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Soil in central New Jersey

#1

Anyone that lives in New Jersey know what kind of soil we have?? I’ve been assuming that we have loam. I know it’s not sandy here where we I live. And should it be set for cool season grass or warm season grass. Lawn looks terrible, I know we’ve had a hot spell but I’ve dump a good amount of water on the lawn.
One other thing, year after year our dogs kill our back yard. Is there any solution. Have tried a lot of things without success. And no, I’m not getting rid of my pups…lol

Thank-you in advance!!

#2

Have your soil tested by Rutgers University. https://njaes.rutgers.edu/soiltestinglab/

Soils of New Jersey. Click on your county and look at the soil maps
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/surveylist/soils/survey/state/?stateId=NJ

#3

@Lucille Check this thread out for your question on soil type.

Using Web Soil Survey to define your soil settings

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#4

I deal with the dog issue. Every year I say that I’m going to train my dog to pee on the rocks, but I never follow through. So I would say your first and best option is to train them to go elsewhere. The grass is less likely to burn the sooner you get water on it so you could water down the spot your dogs pee on right after, but that’s labor intensive. I also previously tried to have my grass water for like a short amount of time throughout the day to make sure that areas with urine were diluted… but I wouldn’t recommend that from a healthy lawn standpoint. Finally, you can read about dietary changes to alter your dogs’ urine, but I don’t think they really work, nor would I change my dog’s diet just to reduce burn spots on the lawn.

#5

Get your soil tested! You need to get a handle on your soil pH. Just look at those survey maps. They will tell you the soil type. New Jersey had great soil for growing beautiful landscapes. I lived in Morristown for one year before I was transferred to Massachusetts back in the 1980s and 1990s.

#6

I’m in Toms River, NJ using Sandy Loam with Cool Season Grass with great success. I used the websoil site and the Rutgers information to get it dialed in.

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#7

Really nothing you can do except take your dogs for more walks. Kentucky Bluegrass is very sensitive to dog urine. I see stuff in Petsmart but think it would be expensive. Do you have shrubs in your yard?